Samsung is pleasing its most loyal fans with Galaxy S7 specs

Now that we’re officially in 2016, all eyes are going to be on Samsung. The world wants know what the company will be doing with the upcoming Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge handsets. Moving from the Galaxy S5 to the Galaxy S6, Samsung made moves that shocked even its most loyal fans. Build quality improved with the introduction of glass and metal; however, what opened the eyes of many was the slimmer profile that nixed the microSD card slot and compressed the battery. The Galaxy S6 also left behind Samsung’s usual inclusion of water resistance. Samsung was still able to sell millions of units of its 2015 flagship, but the company could have learned its lesson to not upset those faithful to the brand.

In late November, “trusted sources” told HDblog.it that Samsung has considered bringing back the microSD card slot for the Galaxy S7. Today, Evan Blass — writing for VentureBeat, is repeating what was said a few months ago while adding additional information. It seems like Samsung will be bringing back the microSD card slot, water resistance, and bigger batteries.

Blass states that a “person briefed on the company’s plans” has revealed Samsung will include microSD card slots for up to an additional 200GB of storage and IP67 certification for water and dust resistance. Meanwhile, batteries for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are going to be fattened to 3000mAh and 3600mAh, respectively. Both will also continue to support wireless charging.

Samsung is apparently sending its megapixels downward from last year’s 16MP, opting for a strategy similar to what Google did with the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X:

Finally, in a move that’s bound to cause some marketing headaches, the main camera sensor is supposedly “just” 12 megapixels, down from the 16 megapixels found in the S6 generation. But resolution is not everything, of course, and the module — coupled with an f/1.7 lens aperture (compared to f/1.9 on S6) — was tipped as being especially capable in low light situations.

Another upside, from some points of view, is that the rear camera lens should now be flush with the backside of the device, eliminating the sometimes-maligned “S6 hump.” The front-facing selfie cam was said to remain unchanged, at least concerning its five-megapixel resolution.

Following a report from The Wall Street Journal, a separate source out of China named March as the month in which Samsung will debut both the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. This would point to MWC 2016 being the platform to showcase any new products.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Justin is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University where he studied marketing with a focus on digital marketing. He's very talkative and enjoys discussing anything from technology and sports to video games and television. As for Justin's current device rotation, he carries around the Google Pixel and Nexus 9. In the rare case that his phone or tablet is not in his hand, he is either flicking through cards on his Moto 360 (2015) or typing away on the Microsoft Surface Book. Justin is patiently waiting for the day that Google replicates the Galaxy Nexus with modern day specifications.